Crossdrilled / Slotted Rotor Owners - Who Turns your rotors???
03-31-2011, 01:49 PM
#16
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OP: Unfortunately, there is a huge amount of misinformation in this thread. Nearly all the wives' tales have been presented, so we're just missing a couple more....
For the street, drilled, slotted, drilled AND slotted and (the best yet) J-Hook rotors will all provide better pad "bite" at speed than smooth, plain-faced rotors. Of course, braking is always limited by the tires (which is one of the reasons we buy the better performance tires), but have you ever tried engaging ABS at 80 or 90 mph? Exactly!
What we want here is the additional INITIAL bite that plain face rotors do not offer. The benefits are real and have been quantified on brake dynos and by professional drivers. Not all drivers are sensitive enough to notice, and some of them will claim that no one else can notice it either. I don't know about them, but even my wife can tell the difference in our minivan! <-- Yes, I put drilled rotors on a minivan! Call me crazy...
Testing has also shown that the cooling advantages are very small unless the rotors are operating at very high temperatures, not something you'll not likely encounter unless tracking the car or bombing canyons and/or mountain roads. Anyone selling you hard on that point has run out of other ideas.
Bottom line: They do work (if done properly, which eliminates about 85-90% of the rotors on the market), they can be turned and they also look pretty cool behind a nice set of wheels. Other than slightly faster pad wear, what's not to like?
For the street, drilled, slotted, drilled AND slotted and (the best yet) J-Hook rotors will all provide better pad "bite" at speed than smooth, plain-faced rotors. Of course, braking is always limited by the tires (which is one of the reasons we buy the better performance tires), but have you ever tried engaging ABS at 80 or 90 mph? Exactly!
What we want here is the additional INITIAL bite that plain face rotors do not offer. The benefits are real and have been quantified on brake dynos and by professional drivers. Not all drivers are sensitive enough to notice, and some of them will claim that no one else can notice it either. I don't know about them, but even my wife can tell the difference in our minivan! <-- Yes, I put drilled rotors on a minivan! Call me crazy...
Testing has also shown that the cooling advantages are very small unless the rotors are operating at very high temperatures, not something you'll not likely encounter unless tracking the car or bombing canyons and/or mountain roads. Anyone selling you hard on that point has run out of other ideas.
Bottom line: They do work (if done properly, which eliminates about 85-90% of the rotors on the market), they can be turned and they also look pretty cool behind a nice set of wheels. Other than slightly faster pad wear, what's not to like?
Would love to see actual proof.. so we can get beyond logical physics.
Last edited by RedG37SNC; 03-31-2011 at 03:34 PM.
03-31-2011, 02:10 PM
#17
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There's a huge amount of mis-information in general on this topic and none of it backed up by actual brake dyno information so it's no wonder the contrasting opinions. Add to that whole racing sports that don't use slotted/drilled rotors and you do find yourself at odds with either option and not knowing who to believe.
Would love to see actual proof.. so we can get beyond logical physics.
Would love to see actual proof.. so we can get beyond logical physics.
Another reason is that there are certain relationships that can be damaged by releasing certain data that could be readily misinterpreted. I'm sitting on a few that just can't be out there as even internally we disagree on how to read them. Just imagine what would happen when released in the wild!
When talking about professional racing, most competitors in series' that use iron rotors use J-Hooks, crescents, slots or other type of face machining. Very few in the top ranks use smooth, plain-faced rotors as they just don't have the bite the driver is used to. I've sent drivers out for qualifying on drilled rotors, but never in a race. We just have to remember to tell the driver we've switched them back or he will blow through the first heavy braking zone on the first lap out!
When searching for the truth, data is good, but can also be manipulated. Be careful when you see a smooth, nice looking graph as it may contain thinly veiled lies and other untruths. It's best to work with a company with tons of experience, tell them exactly what you want to do with the car and what you want the brakes to do, and then listen to the advice. Data is very helpful, but it is no replacement for decades of experience.
03-31-2011, 11:26 PM
#18
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Thanks for the info Chris but I'm confused..when you said, "so we're just missing a couple more.." (wives tales) were you going on to tell more or were you serious about the text that followed (not a smart @$$ comment, I was just a little confused) thx.
04-01-2011, 01:46 AM
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What followed my loose comment were facts as I know them by education, personal experience and years of testing. I reserve the right to change any of my opinions at any time, based on actual science and real world results.
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